'We don’t play football to sit back' - Katie McCabe wants Ireland to attack upcoming World Cup qualifiers

Ireland are guaranteed entry into the playoffs for next year’s World Cup even if they lose all six of their qualifiers but McCabe doesn’t concur with Carla Ward’s view that finishing above Poland is the primary objective.

FAN FAVOURITE: Katie McCabe spent time meeting patients and sharing stories of resilience both on and off the pitch. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

If, as seems inevitable, Katie McCabe’s decade at Arsenal is coming to a conclusion, no better way to bow out than with a treble.

Mikel Arteta’s side aren’t the only Gunners seeking immortality. Early April is shaping into the critical period.

They’ll be onto their quarter-final second leg against Chelsea of the Champions League trophy they won last year, four days before hosting Brighton and Hove Albion at the same stage of the FA Cup.

A first women’s super league title since 2019 is a loftier, yet attainable, target. They have, after all, lost the least number of games.

Win their two matches in hand, albeit easier said than done, and Arsenal will be breathing down the necks of Manchester City and McCabe’s former teammate Vivianne Miedema.

“We’re still in three competitions and have won the Club World Cup,” the Ireland captain said of their latest silverware.

“All we can do in the league is concentrate on closing the gap. Playing for Arsenal, you want to put pressure to ensure the team is in the Champions League positions by the end of the season. We need to maintain the momentum.”

Should they jostle ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea to become closest rivals to City, their destiny could hinge on a final day visit to Anfield.

McCabe will reacquaint with her Ireland teammate Denise O’Sullivan, this time as opponents for the first time since 2020.

“There’ll be less jet-lag for our Denise which will be a real positive for our team,” her peer said of the Corkwoman’s recent move after nine years in the UK.

“You can already see the difference she’s making to that Liverpool side because they’re winning games. I never had any doubt that Denise would fit into that Liverpool team.

“I knew they would strengthen in that window. She’s shown her quality in performances and they’ve got a good one there.

“It could come down to the last day at Anfield but I’d much rather Denise O’Sullivan in my team than playing against her.”

Ranked 18th in Europe, Carla Ward’s Girls in Green must tackle France and Netherlands teams positioned sixth and seventh respectively in the same Uefa table. Les Bleus are first up at Tallaght next Tuesday before they travel to Utrecht five days later.

Ireland are guaranteed entry into the playoffs for next year’s World Cup even if they lose all six of their qualifiers but McCabe doesn’t concur with Ward’s view that finishing above Poland is the primary objective.

“I don’t think we can go in with that mindset to qualify for a major tournament,” said the 30-year-old, who led Ireland into the last World Cup, the 2023 edition in Australia.

“We’ve to try to win the games because what’s the point in competing? We don’t play football to sit back.

“We’ll respect their strengths but we must have fight and determination to hurt them.

“We won a lot of games in 2025 and take that confidence, especially against a League A team like Belgium.”

Those joyous scenes in Leuven were a contrast to the desolation of being hammered by Slovenia in just Ward’s second game at the helm.

“There’s always a natural transition under new management,” reasoned the skipper.

“Looking back, you never want to lose 4-0, but I’m glad it happened when it did because it gave us all a wake-up call.

“We needed to ensure to set our standards for the rest of the phase and did that.

"Unfortunately with football, it’s not all positive results. There will always be one or two results that will hurt you. That loss away from home did that but I’m proud of how we bounced back.”

“Continuity is always important,” she said of a 23-player squad that shows just three changes to the first Ward selected 12 months ago.

“Having a group who are on the same page, know what it takes to qualify for major tournaments, is a plus.

“We lost 300 caps between the retired players which is an incredible amount of experience. We had to go through tough moments together.

“Look at Larko (Abbie Larkin); coming on to get her chance against Belgium and scoring the goal to win the tie.

“We’ve ambitious players coming through and need to give them a really challenging environment.”

The Children's Health Foundation thanks Katie for her continued passion and advocacy for children's health and wellbeing.

To find out more about Children's Health Foundation or to donate log onto to childrenshealth.ie/donate.